MINWR: Oct. 18,2021

Haulover Canal, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Our weather here in Central Florida is finally starting to cool off a bit. I could definitely feel a difference when I set out for Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge early last Monday. And the high temperature reached just 81ºF later that day. Our forecast for next weekend predicts highs in the mid 70s – the beginning of a very nice time of year!

Anyway, I came home with a number of photos I really like. This week I’m going to go way over my usual photo quota and share many of them. First, a couple of landscapes

Beneath the bridge at daybreak Beneath the bridge at daybreak: This is along side the A. Max Brewer Causeway, looking east into the refuge, about a half hour before sunrise.

Around the shore Around the shore: Pretty light and calm water along Gator Creek Road, about 15 minutes before sunrise

Next, some visitors. As pleasant as the cooler temperatures are, they also mean it’s time to start looking for some of our winter bird friends and I spotted several on my trip.

Palm Warbler Palm Warbler. They can be a little jumpy and hard to photograph. But this one sat still for a moment on an interesting and close perch, in nice light, with a good background. Doesn’t happen very often for me – I’m glad it was briefly cooperative.

Adopt an Area Adopt an Area: This Eastern Phoebe has adopted the refuge for a while.

Blue Wing Teal Blue Wing Teal: A few ducks have started to show up too.

Of course we also have many of our normal residents around.

Bottlenose Dolphin Bottlenose Dolphin: The Dolphins and the Brown Pelicans were chasing plentiful fish in Haulover Canal

The header image is a of a Brown Pelican that just caught a fish in the canal. It’s not that good of a photo, but I kept it because it shows an interesting moment in nature’s circle of life.

Posing Anhiga Posing Anhiga: Anhigas are very common here but still well worth photographing when they pose against such a nice background in morning light.

Dragonfly Dragonfly: These can be skittish too, but if you see one in pretty light, be patient and still. Often they’ll return to the same perch and you can squeeze your shutter button.

I saw other birds on this trip, including Great Blue and Tri-colored Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets, White and Glossy Ibis, Ospreys, Belted Kingfishers (sorry couldn’t get a photo), Pied-billed Grebes, Mourning and Common Ground Doves, and others I’m forgetting. I also used the Merlin bird app a couple of times to listen to bird calls. It ID’d a Black Scoter. Those have been spotted before at MINWR, but I wasn’t able to find it to confirm.

I haven’t mentioned this in a while, so I’ll bring it up again: You can find out what birds are in an area on the ebird website: https://ebird.org. Their page for MINWR is here: https://ebird.org/barchart?byr=1900&eyr=2021&bmo=1&emo=12&r=L123565 and it shows what species are seen there during each month of the year – a fabulous resource!

You can click on each of these photos to see larger versions on Flickr. And I have a huge collection of MINWR images in this album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157627776386723

Changing the subject #1 : This week, Go take a look at Diane’s Swamp Sunflower post: https://lavenderdreamstoo.blogspot.com/2021/10/in-search-of-swamp-sunflower.html. She spotted them near the Pruitt Trailhead at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve and along the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway trail. Wonderful photos Diane!

Changing the subject #2 : Halloween is next weekend so here’s one more photo from last Monday that fits with the holiday:

Web and Mangrove Web and Mangrove

Okay – I think that’s a long enough post for today! Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, get out and see some nature. And make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Sunrise lost?

Cameras and Photography, Merritt Island NWR, , ,

I might see one or two people fishing whenever I pull into Gator Creek Road in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge before dawn. It’s rare to see another photographer there for sunrise, although later in the day on Black Point Wildlife Drive there are often plenty of folks taking photos. On this morning someone else was already out there when I pulled into this spot. They had their camera / tripod set up over on the right (out of the frame in this image). I parked a bit away to give them some space and not interfere with their photography.

Mangroves at dawn Mangroves at dawn

As I set up and starting making images, they headed over with their tripod and camera. I didn’t pay a lot of attention, since I was busy trying to decide on compositions and wanted to capture the light on the clouds before it changed. I figured they just wanted to try a different viewpoint.

They stopped when they got to where I was and started talking about all sorts of things: music, musicians, photographing concerts, what camera I was using, where they lived, where they photographed, etc., etc. I was busy and concentrating on my photography, so a lot of my replies were monosyllabic. As time went on, I continued photographing and they continued talking. I hope I didn’t seem too rude. At one point I even mentioned how much I liked the cloud formations, but they never did make a photo.

There are all sorts of people, and we all have different priorities, but I still don’t understand. This person was motivated to get up very early, pack all their gear and head out for a morning of photography. But then didn’t make photos of a wonderful scene taking place all around us. Maybe they’d already got a lot of great photos before I arrived. But if it was me, I’d have kept shooting.

Anyway, here are some other photos I’ve made on Gator Creek Road: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157720027085338

Changing the subject: Go take a look at Wally Jones’s blog post about this year’s sunflowers at Marl Bed Flats. He was out there on October 12th and got some really nice photos!

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you’re already out there, please go ahead and make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Lighthouse Before and After

Maine, Technique, , ,

Lynn and I wanted another print for our walls and we both liked a photo of the Bass Harbor Head Light Station that I made on a trip to Acadia National Park back in August of 2014. Looking at the file in Lightroom, I wasn’t happy with the colors, and the resolution wasn’t quite enough for the size print that we wanted. I dug out the original RAW image file and reprocessed it with my current software and techniques. Here’s a comparison slider showing the full image (before is on the left):

Bass Harbor Head Light Station, Acadia National Park, August 2014

In Lightroom, I used their recently added “enhance” capability to improve RAW details and upsize. I also did basic adjustments including a slightly larger crop, white balance, and exposure. Then I opened it in Photoshop for final edits – which included texture / clarity tweaks and a pass through the Topaz Sharpen AI filter.

Here’s a small crop showing detail down by the water:

Software has improved a lot since 2014. I’m glad I saved the RAW file in my archives. We’ve already made the print and it looks good up on the wall.

A higher resolution version of the finished photo is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/51514669988/in/dateposted-public/.

If you’re interested, this link will take you to other blog posts I’ve written about reprocessing: https://edrosack.com/?s=reprocessing.

And I’ve collected some reprocessed examples in this album on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157622798164562

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you need to – reprocess some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Sunflower Status – Oct 2, 2021

Lake Jesup Sunflowers, ,

Lynn drove me over the Lake Jesup bridge yesterday so I could scout the Swamp Sunflower fields to the east of HW 417 in the Marl Bed Flats area north of the lake. It’s not very safe to park on the side of 417 – this was the best photo I got with my iPhone from the passenger seat of our moving car:

Lake Jesup Swamp Sunflower Field. iPhone photo, made on 10/3/2021

You can see that the annual Swamp Sunflower bloom has started here in Central Florida and it looks like it’ll be a good year for the flowers. These are about 2-3 feet tall – they’ll reach up to 6 feet or more later, so I’m guessing they might peak in the next week or two.

Here’s a better photo of one from 2013:

Water drops and insects on a Swamp Sunflower Water drops and insects on a Swamp Sunflower. October 2, 2013

It’s been a little wet this summer, and they’ve closed this area in the past due to high water. So I searched on-line for any info on whether it’s open. Marl Bed Flats is part of the Lake Jesup Conservation area and I couldn’t find any mention of closures on their web page. I did see this on the Lake Jesup Wilderness area page (which is a short distance away from Marl Bed Flats on the west side of 417):

“The Lake Jesup Wilderness Area is currently closed due to wet season conditions.”

https://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/locations/Lake-Jesup-Wilderness-Area.stml

I’ve enjoyed photographing these flowers since 2006, but I probably can’t visit this year. Since I can’t give you a better report, you’ll have to venture out there on your own. If you do go or find a better status, please leave a comment here so others will see the info.

I’ll leave you with one more close up. I like the water drop in this image from 2010:

Water drop on a Swamp Sunflower Water drop on a Swamp Sunflower. October 10,2010

If you’re interested, I have more photos from this lovely field of wildflowers in this album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157622430520287

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can – and make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Planning or Luck?

Merritt Island NWR, Technique, , , , ,

Ansel Adams is known for his pre-visualization approach to photography.

“The term [pre]visualization refers to the entire emotional-mental process of creating a photograph”

“It’s not what you see, it’s what you want me to see”

Ansel Adams

Having deliberate control of all parts of the photo capture and printing processes allowed him to create wonderful images. We can’t be Ansel Adams, but we can continue learning so that we gain as much control as possible in our own photography.

Embrace your craft.  Study it.  Understand it.  Practice it.  Select a subject. Compose and expose. Process and print. Use all your skills to control the light you capture. It’s a life long activity that you’ll never completely master.

But sometimes the subject and light find you. When this happens, be ready. If you are, you can use all of your acquired skills to make a photo showing what you want people to see. Ansel also said:

“Sometimes I arrive just when God’s ready to have someone click the shutter”

Ansel Adams

A while back over in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, I saw this scene developing and really liked the way the sun was shining through the backlit clouds. I quickly searched for some foreground and found a pool of water reflecting the sky. I made a set of four frames that I could stitch into a vertical panorama.

Wetland Weather Wetland Weather

Later on the computer, I had to solve issues with stitching, exposure, and focus but luckily I knew what to try and had the tools to do so. Of course, it’s not Ansel Adams level photography – but I’m very pleased with the result.

What kind of photographer are you? Do you pre-plan / visualize all of your photos? Or do you wander around and photograph what nature presents? Which approach gives you the best results? Which gives you the most pleasure:  A carefully controlled composition that comes out exactly like your vision?  Or a serendipitous image that came out well when you tried something new?

Luck is good.  Preparation is good.  Being prepared when you get lucky is better.

“Chance favors the prepared mind.”

Louis Pasteur

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, be ready – and make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

SpaceX Inspiration4 Launch

Rocket Launch, ,

SpaceX lit up the sky with the launch of the Inspiration4 mission Wednesday evening (9/15/21): the first all civilian mission to orbit. We had a spectacular view of the launch from our front yard in Winter Springs, Florida (about 45 miles from the launch pad)!

We have some tall trees to the east that block our view for the first minute or so, but we soon saw the rocket exhaust through and then above the branches. These first two photos are before the 1st stage separated:

SpaceX Inpiration4 Civilian Crew Launch SpaceX Inpiration4 Civilian Crew Launch (1)

If you click on the one above, the larger version on Flickr shows the space craft at the top. It’s a bit soft, but I think it was going through some haze / atmospheric distortion at the time. I’d set my focus on the moon before launch and I think it was good, since details in the later photos are clear.

SpaceX Inpiration4 Civilian Crew Launch SpaceX Inpiration4 Civilian Crew Launch (2)

These last two photos are after 1st stage separation. The Dragon crew capsule is on the left (still on the Falcon 2nd stage). The 1st stage is on the right, with puffs of vapor from attitude control thrusters around it.

SpaceX Inpiration4 Civilian Crew Launch SpaceX Inpiration4 Civilian Crew Launch (3)

Lynn and I have lived in Central Florida for a while and we’ve watched many launches. Neither of us remember seeing one like this. Watching the thrusters fire several times and seeing the exhaust expand was really interesting. I think there was just enough remaining sunlight about 1/2 hour after sunset to light up the exhaust so we could see it.

I like this last photo best. The shape of the thruster vapor adds to the image and there are a few stars visible in the background that add context too. (You’ll probably need to look at the larger version on Flickr to see the stars.)

SpaceX Inpiration4 Civilian Crew Launch SpaceX Inpiration4 Civilian Crew Launch (5)

Night launches are spectacular and it’s a privilege to live close enough to the Cape to see them. This one was especially photogenic. On Saturday evening as I finished writing this, the Inspiration4 capsule splashed down successfully off the coast near the Cape Kennedy Space Center.

If you want to try making photos like this, you’ll need a long lens (or a closer spot!). My lens is stabilized, which helps. I shoot in manual mode (focus and exposure). Set your focus to infinity beforehand. My exposures were at ISO 6400, f/9 at 1/80 sec. Try something similar, check your results, and adjust if needed.

You can see all my launch blog posts at this link: https://edrosack.com/category/photo-ops-in-florida/rocket-launch/. And you can view some of my other launch and space related photos in this album on Flickr.

Header image: One more view: SpaceX Inpiration4 Civilian Crew Launch (4).

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Lake Apopka, 9/3/2021

Lake Apopka, , , , , , ,

I had a wonderful trip up to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive a week ago. It was a Saturday with a lot of people around, but it was gorgeous and there were more than enough things to see for everyone.

Most folks took Welland Rd. away from the pump house, so I chose to leave there on the Lake Apopka Loop Trail. I’m glad I did – I didn’t see anyone else on that part of the drive. LAWD’s a special place and even more so when you’re out there by yourself.

Along the north shore Along the north shore

I think this spot near the shore looks good in black and white. I like the trees, clouds, reflections, and Cormorants roosting in the branches. Here’s a closer look at one of the birds:

Cormorant Cormorant

Bald Eagles are always awesome. This one seemed to enjoy the view as much as I did.

Bald Eagle Bald Eagle

A little further along, a hawk flew by screaming at me for daring to point my camera in its direction.

Red-shouldered Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk

When I first got there, a large alligator was floating close to the main road and seemed to be staring right at me. Watching it made me feel less like a photographer and more like a gator snack. I’ve never actually seen them show any aggression toward humans, and I was a good distance from it. But I was glad to be in the car.

Predator Predator

Great Blue Herons are supreme predators too. I’ve spotted several recently with huge fish. This one was in nice morning light.

Morning Catch Morning Catch

It was a fine outing. I came home with memories, photos, and a good dose of Central Florida’s beautiful nature elixer. You can click on these photos to see larger versions on Flickr. And I have many more of my Lake Apopka images in this album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157656060310175

Header image: The View from Lust Road, near the entrance to LAWLD. Full version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/51424824946/in/dateposted-public/

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Out of practice

Cameras and Photography, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , ,

It doesn’t take very long to forget about some things. Good habits lapse and bad ones take over quickly.

I hadn’t been out photographing in about three weeks and was anxious to go last week. So I got up early Wednesday morning and headed over to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge – one of my favorite spots. Although I managed to come back with some photos I like, all did not go well. Turns out I was out of practice and there were several issues that made me miss shots. So today, I have a few reminders of things not to do. Maybe my mistakes will help someone else.

Morning glow Morning glow – from Gator Creek Road

  • I didn’t check the MINWR website before I went. If I had, I would have seen: “The Black Point Wildlife drive will be closed for two weeks for annual maintenance beginning 8/19/21.” Luckily, there are plenty of spots to explore in the refuge, so this wasn’t a critical error. But somewhere else, it could have been. Check the website!
Silhouettes Silhouettes

  • I hadn’t reset my camera / lens. My long zoom has a focus limiter switch. You can choose the full range of focus (2.4m – infinity) or limit it to one of two ranges. I usually keep it set to the 10m – infinity selection which speeds up focus response for birds in flight. I’d used it at home though for a close up (2.4m – 10m) and put it back in the case without reseting it. Then when I pulled it out at MINWR to photograph a distant bird, it wouldn’t focus. Fortunately (unfortunately?) I’ve made this mistake before, and it didn’t take long to correct. But it was confusing and I did miss a shot. Reset your camera and lens to defaults when you put them away.
Bird Buddies Bird Buddies

  • A lot of the time, I have my camera in my lap so it’s ready to use on short notice. But at one point while driving down Biolab Road, I’d put it in the open case on the seat next to me. Of course, a huge gator picked that time to stroll across the road in front of me. I probably wouldn’t have made the shot even if I’d been ready, but I would’ve had a better chance if the camera had been closer. Keep your camera ready at all times.
  • I’m really upset at myself about this last one. At some point during the trip I’d set my aperture to a small f-stop to increase my depth of field. And I forgot to change it back to wide open (the default – see above!!!). This slowed my shutter speeds and ruined a few photos due to motion blur that I wish I’d gotten. I usually don’t check my photos all the time, but the instant feedback you can get with digital cameras is wonderful – if you use it. Inspect what you’ve captured every once in a while so you can catch problems.
Morning meal Morning meal. A 1/125s shutter speed was fine for a still subject.

Header image: Looking west from Biolab Road, Infrared, B&W. Full version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/51424824946/in/dateposted-public/

These mistakes are embarrassing – I hope I don’t repeat them the next time I’m out. And I hope they help you too!

“That is what you should not do. So let that be a lesson to you.”

Berenstain Bears: THE BIKE LESSON

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, avoid some mistakes and make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Show up for the Show, and Share

Cameras and Photography, ,

We live in an extraordinary universe. Nature’s gorgeous creations are all around us. Photography is about sharing a small part of the beauty we each experience with others.

One of those mornings One of those mornings

Scenes worth photographing aren’t only at iconic photo spots. And images from those might be over shared anyway. Go out wherever you are and find inspiration. And make photos. And show us what you’ve seen. The hardest part is getting up and going out.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. If you can, show up for the show, make some photos, and share them!

Hurricane Ida is expected to hit Louisiana today – it’s a very dangerous storm. Be careful out there and please take care of yourselves and each other.

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Our mini Gallery

Cameras and Photography

In Picking a Print, I wrote about deciding on one more photo for our family room. Lynn re-organized things for us and I thought you’d like to see how they look.

The Prints (photo by Lynn Rosack)

I used to have a very high quality photo printer and printed many of my images. But I didn’t use it enough and had problems keeping it going (running out of expensive ink, clogged nozzles, color calibration, etc.). It was very frustrating and I eventually gave up and gave it away. Since then we’ve switched to ordering metal prints. They’re a bit expensive but I like the quality, and they’re not as pricy as they seem if you factor in the cost of matting and framing paper prints.

Printing photographs that you look at (and really see) every day is a much different experience than looking through them every once in a while on a computer. I’m sure each of you have images that deserve to be seen. If you haven’t printed any of your photos lately, you should think about doing so.

Actually, you should think about printing every time you make a photograph. If your camera / settings / technique / workflow is optimized for prints it will result in high quality image files and you’ll have the option of printing them if you want to.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, put up some prints!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved